Category Archives: Meditation

HOW TO Meditate : Anusara Yogi

Before listening and watching the following 8+ minute video, find a quiet spot to sit comfortably with an erect spine. This video is by an English Anusara yogi and would be a beautiful Savasana meditation to do as well at the end of your yoga practice.

If you will be sitting cross-legged on the floor or earth, and if your knees are higher than your hips, Bridget suggests tucking a blanket under both of your knees to allow you to fully and deeply relax your inner thighs during this meditation practice. Another option would be to sit higher. How high would depend on how high your knees are – you may just need to sit on a yoga blanket, or your may prefer to sit on a Zafu. We offer a large selection of Zafus: round or crescent-shaped; regular cotton covers or organic; and cotton, buckwheat or kapok stuffing.

HOW TO Meditate While Walking

It is a beautiful time of the year to take your meditation outside. Here is a poem by Thich Nhat Hanh on a Walking Meditation. Next week we’ll post an article on how you can perform your own moving meditation session. This could allow for an alternative for those who are struggling with a sitting meditation, or just offer some variety by combining your sitting meditation with occasional walking meditations.

Find a quiet moment, and with a little visual imagery you can find yourself walking anywhere while reading the following poem.

Walking Meditation (poem by Thich Nhat Hanh)

Take my hand.
We will walk.
We will only walk.
We will enjoy our walk
without thinking of arriving anywhere.
Walk peacefully.
Walk happily.
Our walk is a peace walk.
Our walk is a happiness walk.

Then we learn
that there is no peace walk;
that peace is the walk;
that there is no happiness walk;
that happiness is the walk.
We walk for ourselves.
We walk for everyone
always hand in hand.

Walk and touch peace every moment.
Walk and touch happiness every moment.
Each step brings a fresh breeze.
Each step makes a flower bloom under our feet.
Kiss the Earth with your feet.
Print on Earth your love and happiness.

HOW TO Benefit from Mudras : Graceful Gestures during Meditation

Following is an excerpt from an article called Mudra: Graceful Gestures from LifePositive. The following descriptions of Mudras will give you a description on how to place your hands in different mudras and the benefits you can achieve. Read through the examples and see which mudra resonates with you at this time and then incorporate into your daily meditation.

Note that there are many, many mudras….this is just a sampling.

Mudras:

These mudras are for everyone. They can be practiced for half-an-hour daily. It is advisable to sit cross-legged on your bed or on the floor while doing a mudra, but the Acharya assures that it won’t be ineffective if you do not follow this posture. You could even go for a stroll, with your hands casually tucked in your pockets, fingers folded in a particular mudra.

Mudras never generate an excess of energy, they simply seek an optimal balancing of prana, much like a thermostat. So next time you are ailing, remember it may just be an instance of maladjusted prana and an innocuous sleight of hand could be the cure.

GYAN MUDRA

The thumb and the index finger are brought together in gentle contact, not pressing hard, while all other fingers are kept upright. This is the mudra most people are familiar with.

Great thinkers such as Buddha, Mahavir, Christ and Guru Nanak are generally depicted in this pose. Its practice ensures mental peace, concentration, sharp memory and spiritual feelings.

It cures insomnia and mental disorders, and dissipates tension, depression and drowsiness. This is a must for those who aspire to develop telepathy or wish to acquire extrasensory abilities.

APAN VAYU MUDRA

(Also known as Mritsanjeevini Mudra)

Fold the forefinger down and touch the mound of the thumb. The little finger should be held erect.

It regulates complications of the heart. In a severe heart attack, if administered as a first aid measure within the first two seconds, it provides instant relief.

PRAN MUDRA

Touch the points of the little finger and the ring finger to the tip of the thumb lightly.

This is a life-giving mudra, it energizes the body and improves its vitality.

It helps to improve eyesight. A must for those who feel nervous, tired and weak.

SURABHI MUDRA

Join the little finger of one hand with the ring finger of the other and vice versa. Similarly, join the forefinger with the middle finger of the other hand and vice versa. Leave the thumbs free.

HOW TO Understand Mantras and Their Meanings

This article has a nice description of some of the different mantras. Hope it helps you decide on one for yourself…

Health And Yoga News Letters

Mantras for You

Below are listed a sampling of mantras. As stated previously, one’s mantra is usually given by a Guru. But in the absence of a Guru, the individual may choose a mantra that “rings true”.

Mantras – when repeated on Japa Mala Beads – have a profound impact upon our well being.

OMThe King of mantras of a single syllable is ‘Om‘. It is the sound of infinity and immortality, containing within it all the scriptures of the world.
‘Om‘ is often used at the beginning of meditation to focus the mind, or as a prefix to other mantras.

OM NAMOThese words are often said before invocation of a particular deity. ‘Om‘ retains its significance as above. ‘Namo‘, in Sanskrit, means to honor, appreciate and be humble towards.

Therefore, putting it before the deity’s name means something like “praise be to” or “all thanks to”.

The following are different mantras using these prefixes :

OM NAMO GANESHAYAGanesha is the God of beginnings and success. Therefore, this mantra is formed at the beginning of new undertakings and to bring about success by removing obstacles.

OM NAMO LAKSHMAILakshmi is the Hindu Goddess associated with prosperity in all aspects of life – financial, emotional and spiritual. Mantras to Her bring richness to life and a wealth of good fortune.

OM NAMO NARAYANA
Narayana is the name of Vishnu, the source of humanity. It is a mantra said in times of trouble to re-establish harmony and balance. Many powers come from saying this mantra. It also aids in attaining enlightenment.

HOW TO Practice Enlightenment Meditation

The following article was found at Yoga Journal and teaches us a meditation to focus on peace and happiness:

Practice Enlightenment Meditation

Dhyana

This practice is adapted from the Vijana Bhairava, an ancient and very powerful Sanskrit meditation text.

Step by Step

Sitting quietly, begin to become aware of the part of you that is aware. Something in you knows that you’re alive, that you’re breathing, that you’re thinking. It’s subtle and hidden, but that witnessing part of you is the basis of everything you experience.

Next, think of a loved one. Bring to mind someone to whom you feel close and think to yourself, “With all of our differences of personality and history, we both share consciousness. At the most fundamental level, the level of awareness, we are one.” If that seems too abstract, consider, “Like me, this person seeks happiness. This person too feels pain.” The more you can identify yourself with awareness, and recognize the awareness in the other person, the more deeply you will feel kinship.

Now think of an acquaintance. Bring to mind someone about whom you feel neutral, and have the same recognition: that there is one consciousness in both of you.

Think of an enemy. Bring to mind someone you dislike, perhaps someone you regard as an enemy, or a public figure you hold in low esteem. Remind yourself, “Different as we may be, the same consciousness dwells in that person as in me. On the level of awareness, we are one.”

Feel the energy. Expand this idea to include the physical world, and allow yourself to contemplate the fact that a single energy underlies everything in the universe. On the level of subatomic particles, everything you see and feel is part of one great energy soup. With that in mind, look around and say to yourself, “All that I see, all that I touch, all that I imagine, is made of one single conscious energy.”

Hold that thought. Questions will come up—and they’re worth exploring. However, there is great power in simply holding the thought, “All this is one consciousness,” as a mantra, and then trying to see the world that way. See how the thought of oneness softens the edges of your judging mind. Find out whether it eases feelings of frustration, anxiety, and fear. Notice how it tends to bring up feelings of peace.

After you’ve practiced this contemplation a few times, try taking it into your world. Look at the angry driver in the lane next to you, or the sad woman on the bus, and think, “The same consciousness is in that person as in me.” Or see the person on TV whose politics you disagree with and think, “The same consciousness is in that person as in me.”

As these practices become part of your life, look for different ways to recognize that kinship of consciousness—be recognizing the light in the eyes of an animal, or the living sap in a tree. As you do, keep observing the effect it has on you. When you notice that you’re feeling more connected or more open, honor those feelings. Know that you are experiencing some of the qualities of the enlightened state of being.